Feeling Hopeless to a Top Beachbody Coach

My name is Josh Spencer and I’ve shared my story many, many times, but there is always one part of it that I’ve left out. I’ve been neglecting that part for so long, but I’ve gotten to the point where it’s time to share it and make it public. I want to do so because I know there is someone out there who is feeling the exact same way that I was, going through the exact same things, and instead of feeling like there is no way out, I want to show them that there is ALWAYS a way out, no matter how bad things get, no matter how down you are on yourself. Most people know that I was a former college baseball player, graduated college in December of 2007, got a job as a Financial Advisor in January, struggled financially and eventually became a Beachbody Coach in July, but the part of my story that I’ve left out is the details on what was going on in my life between January and July of 2008, and trust me, there was a lot. I was in a dark place for quite some time. Here is the REST of my story about how I went from being hopeless to a Top Beachbody Coach in just 3 years.

Becoming a Financial Planner was my dream career, it’s the reason why I studied what I did in college, and it excited me when I got the job that was going to steer me in the right direction towards my ultimate goal. There were a few companies that I had to decide between, and I chose the one I did because I felt the most comfortable there, and felt like they were going to give me the greatest opportunity to succeed. The leaders of the company were great, the employees were friendly, and the the training seemed legitimate. After about a month of learning the business, though, that passion that I thought I would have for the business just wasn’t there, and I guess I was sort of forcing myself to enjoy it. After all, it was my CAREER, so I had to eventually come to like it, right? That’s what I thought. Something was missing, though, and I just wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. It’s nobody’s fault, really, but rather it was just something that my heart wasn’t in. At the same time, the long term relationship that I was in was starting to get a little rocky. I was working a lot of hours, I was beginning to get down on myself, I had let myself go regarding my health, and maybe it affected the relationship, or maybe we just grew apart, I don’t know, but it wasn’t doing well.

I decided to do something about my health and look for a program that would help me get into shape. My confidence was at an all time low at this point, and I knew that if I didn’t start believing in myself again, none of the clients I wanted to work with would believe in me either. That’s when I found P90X, and I decided to commit myself 100% to both the workouts and diet. I did, and each week that passed I got into better and better shape. However, the relationship I was in was at it’s worse it’s ever been, we stopped spending time with each other, and there was just nothing left, and my career took a turn for the worse. I fell behind on my monthly quota and stopped getting paid, meaning I had to live off of the money I had in the bank, which was barely anything. I fell so far behind that there was no way I could get caught up with the quota, and not too long after we ended the relationship. I was at an all time low. Even though I was feeling better because of being truly healthy for the first time in my life, I was not in a good place mentally because of everything else that was going on.

It got to the point where I absolutely dreaded waking up in the morning to go to work and couldn’t focus on what I was doing. While I was working, all I could think about was what I was going to do with my life now that it’s completely fallen apart. I hated my career, the relationship that I thought would be permanent totally fell apart, and I was just completely unsure of my future. I then slipped into a dark place. Now I wasn’t diagnosed with depression or anything like that, but I could have easily been depressed, but I’m not sure if that’s what it was or not. All I know is that I wasn’t myself. After work I would go back to my apartment, grab the bottle of alcohol, turn out the lights, and listen to calming music, trying to figure out my life. There I was, sitting in the dark, drinking rum straight out of the bottle, confused, down, sad, with no solution in sight. Even my parents and friends knew something was wrong, as they constantly told me I wasn’t being myself, and I knew I wasn’t, just wasn’t sure how to get out of it. I finally got to the point where I had enough.

I remember one night closing my eyes, folding my hands, and praying to God, asking for help, letting Him know that my life from this point forward was in HIS hands. When I got done praying, all the weight I was feeling, all the struggle that was going on internally, suddenly was gone. For the first time in a LONG time I was at peace. I knew that the good Lord above would show me the path I needed to take. At that point I decided to walk into work and tell them that I’m leaving for a week, going down to Myrtle Beach by myself. What could they do, fire me? I wasn’t making any money anyways, and I needed time to myself to think about my future. So that’s what I did, book a trip down to Myrtle Beach by myself, and that trip is where things started becoming clear.

Three months earlier my Beachbody Coach, Barbie, who helped me tremendously while going through P90X, and not with just fitness either, with everything that was going on in my life, asked me to become a Beachbody Coach. I told her no, only because I wasn’t in the right place mentally at the time, but it was always in the back of my mind. I just knew I needed to handle everything else that was going on before I took on something else. While I was down in Myrtle Beach, though, it really became apparent that my passion was health and fitness. After all, I was helping a lot of people go through P90X even though I wasn’t an official Coach yet, and every time I did, it felt great to me, I felt fulfilled. I came to the conclusion that I would become a Beachbody Coach for the sole reason that doing so would be an escape from everything else that was going on in my life. I knew that Coaching is something I could look forward to every night after getting off work. I looked forward to changing people’s lives. When I got home, I scheduled a call with Barbie to tell her that I was going to become a Beachbody Coach. That was in July.

Not too long afterwards I decided to quit my job as a Financial Advisor because there was no passion left for that career whatsoever. I decided to work for my dad, helping him with his business, and focus a little on the Beachbody Business at the same time. After going through such a rough breakup, I didn’t want to get involved with anyone else until I knew that I would find the girl that was perfect for me, and in December that same year, that’s exactly what happened. We met by chance through a friend, and the moment I first saw Melinda I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. After I started talking to her and got to know her some, I instantly felt a connection that I had never felt before. We have been together every single day since, and now we’re married with 2 beautiful daughters, Madison and Alaina.

After struggling financially for a long time, I decided to focus more attention on the Beachbody Business, learning the ins and outs of it, studying what the successful Beachbody Coaches were doing, and doing research to further my knowledge on social media marketing. I decided to go full time as a Beachbody Coach in 2010, the same year that I won Top Beachbody Coach out of over 50,000 Coaches. Not only have I created complete financial and time freedom for my family and I, but I have also built a team of thousands of Beachbody Coaches, all who are doing the same thing as I am, helping people and changing lives one day at a time. I was inducted into the Beachbody Millionaire’s Club in 2013, something that only a VERY SELECT FEW have been able to achieve, and now it’s my goal to help my Coaches reach that status as well. (Read the rest of my Top Beachbody Coach story)

Life has changed drastically. When I look back at what happened in my life, all those rough times I went through back in 2008, I now know that I went through those for a reason, and that’s to show people that it doesn’t matter how bad things are, how bad you’re struggling, if you put your life in God’s hands and take action, your life can turn around. I’ve been in some very low points in my life, but now I am happier than I’ve ever been, and it’s because I have an unbelievable family and a job that I’m completely passionate about. When I wake up in the morning, I can’t wait to get to work because I know that I will be changing someone’s life that day. There is nothing better than that, and to be able to make a living off of it at the same time, it’s something that’s unheard of and I’m truly blessed. “When you’re going through hell, keep on going.” Never give up on yourself no matter how hard things become. You never know where God can lead you. That is how I went from feeling hopeless to a Top Beachbody Coach.

2 Comments

I appreciate your article Josh. Depression and anxiety are very real and most people that are experiencing it feel like they are the only ones in the world that feel that way. The fact is, many people suffer from these conditions but very few talk about it so I appreciate your article.

Philippians 4:6-9 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

This Scripture has been a big help to me but it’s not always that easy to put into practice. It’s only by His grace that we can overcome anxiety and experience his peace.

If anyone reading this wants to learn more about just how much we all need God please visit http://www.needgod.com.

Excellent story Josh! I really believe in sharing our struggles because we arr feel like we suffer ALONE! But it isn’t true, we all do. Keeping your story inside prevents you from helping others in that same situation, and that could leave them hopeless. You have (just by writing this) brought hope to many you will never even meet :).